EU to Place Sanctions on Syria

Posted on May 6, 2011

The European Union agreed to impose sanctions on Syria next week in response to the Assad regime’s latest violent crackdowns, which have killed as many as 16 protesters. —ARK

The Guardian:

European countries will formally announce the sanctions on Monday, imposing asset freezes and travel restrictions on top Syrian officials involved in a seven-week crackdown that has killed more than 500 by some estimates.

The crackdown has tested the courage of protesters and some in the movement had warned that it might even break their resolve. But many thousands turned out in 65 towns and cities across the country on Friday, according to activists. Video footage from several cities showed large crowds chanting “the people want to topple the regime” and “the martyr is loved by God”.

... The regime also moved to round up prominent activists. Dissident and former political prisoner Riad Seif was arrested in the Damascus area of Midan, where protests broke out for the third week in a row. “My father was shoved into a bus with other protesters who were detained during the demonstration near the al-Hassan mosque,” his daughter Jumana told Reuters.